The Top Five Online Dating Findings from 2014

December 29, 2014

Do you like to travel? Me, too. Apparently so does everyone else on Match.com. How do I know this? Match.com just came out with its 2014 Year in Review report, and below are the top five highlights:

The most common word people used in profiles in 2014 was “travel.” It showed up in more than one million profiles—1,005,346, to be exact. That’s a lot of planes, trains, and automobiles. I’m surprised “marathon” or “training” wasn’t another one. When I search the various online dating sites for my clients, I feel like I’m the only one who isn’t training for some sort of uber-fitness competition!

The most common phrase people used was “down to earth.” Almost a quarter of a million people describe themselves that way. Yep, 232,348 people consider themselves to be down to earth. This is why we shouldn’t use “empty adjectives.” They can’t be proven until you get to know someone. And even then, it’s pretty subjective.

Words that made big jumps in popularity this year were Zumba, electrician, welcoming, warmhearted, crochet, quickest, cosmetology, ladies, and sewing… with Zumba being #1. Now, what percentage of the people who list going to Zumba actually go to Zumba? The world may never know.

“Frozen”was listed as 5,501 people’s favorite movie this year, which is well above any other movie. How many times can one person actually listen to “Let it Go” on repeat? Actually, I don’t think I want to know!

One person used a whopping… wait for it… 44 hashtags in his Match.com profile! #toomuchtimeonyourhands

In writing a fictitious profile that encompasses all five highlights, let’s see what we have here:

I’m a down to earth gal (because my dad was an electrician) who loves to go to Zumba class, travel, and crochet. I like to sew, too, but I’m not old enough to do that too often! #notagrandmayet I’m also pretty warmhearted, especially since I LOVE watching Frozen. That Elsa is such a strong woman, just like me.

What’s the moral here? Dare to be different! The profile above kind of looks like one of the most annoying people in existence. People don’t want to date one of the masses. They want to date you, even (especially?) if you don’t watch Frozen or go to Zumba.

7 thoughts on “The Top Five Online Dating Findings from 2014”

I know lots of people like it, but for me “down to earth” is a big turn-off. I just can’t help equating it with boring. It makes me think of sensible shoes. I want my accountant to be down to earth; I want my romantic partner to be able to take flight once in a while.

Erika, I’ve followed the advice from your excellent book. Yesterday I got rid of the remaining empty adjectives in my profile. And I have to say I like my profile so much better now. An advantage to not having adjectives…. I realized that before first dates I was subconsciously worrying about whether I would “live up” to my adjectives… that I had to “demonstrate” or “prove” my adjectives. That kind of thinking took me away from focusing on just being myself. So, I can say that dating life is much better if you can ditch all your adjectives.